What is your teaching philosophy?

How a student learns is a very personal process - what's best is to creatively adapt to what works well, as per the philosophy of educational pioneers like Maria Montessori.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I would get to know them and their educational goals, and then we'd set up a system and maybe some work to do before the next meeting.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

That's an advantage of tutoring - it allows you to help someone find the learning style that works for them personally and continue it on their own. A lot of the time, people just need encouragement and the knowledge that they can work within their own system.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Part of this is a personal issue, but regular meetings and check ins keep students on top of their workload.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

That's why we tutors are here! I think the point of tutoring is to find new approaches that deal with unique ways of learning for each person.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

Find them readings that are actually interesting and relevant to them, so they'll be motivated to get through the stories. We can go from there!

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

Many students who come for tutoring have been under a lot of pressure from school or family members, and it's important to try from the start to give them faith in themselves as intelligent and capable people who aren't defined by a number.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

It depends on the subject, but the main ones are problem sets and speaking. It's always great to incorporate new tools and experiments when you can, though!